Friday, May 15, 2009

Welcome to Shedworking's celebration of National Work From Home Day (which is today). I'll be updating this post throughout the day - there'll be tweets too - and please do leave a comment to say hi and perhaps a little bit about where you're working and what you're doing today.7.30am Take eldest son to choir at the Cathedral then back for breakfast and quick email to client advising them when their magazine will arrive for their approval10.18 Back from school run and coffee with Daily Mirror journalist friend to discuss the state of newspapers and football. Some mild invoicing and a proper check of the mountain of stuff in my RSS feed including this rather nice shot of the reconstructed Thoreau's Cabin on materialicious10.35 Baby Shedworking happy playing with his stuff so grabbing the chance to sort out photos for the Shedworking book. Have realised some are corrupt and people are very kindly resending them. Got a particular nice set of shots from a very wellknown author which I'm keeping quiet about until just before publication...11.06 Just had telephone call with (very understanding) client while holding baby and feeding him a small piece of fruit. Now enjoying coffee while baby rips up paper.12.24 Baby now asleep after vast lunch which leaves me about two hours baby-free time to get on with working on the latest issue of NACC News. Postman arrives a little late with cheque for recent work with the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation, terrific people to work with, not least because they pay invoices speedily.12.37 Lunch. Mushrooms on toast with a bit of M&S's couscous spice paste. Instant miso soup (not that great but reduces amount of coffee I drink). Browsing the interweb and come across this marvellous piece on Shedblog about the Clarkson Mk 1.13.05 Just reading about this interesting survey from BT about working from home. They claim that

"over half (55%) of employees are working from home more often since the financial crisis began...The need to save money is the main reason for the majority (88%) of respondents to now conduct their working day from the comfort of their living room, bedroom or garden shed.

(my italics)13.13 The National Pyjama Club has been brought to my attention13.17 Here's the pitter patter of rain on James Rudd's shed roofListen!14.45 Baby awakes. End of work for the next few hours as school pickup approaches. Wondering whether fish and chips should be today's tea.18.57 Baby now asleep, eldest two fed, Mrs Shedworking due back any second. A short pause then work will resume in about an hour. Enjoying the mashup from Speed Communications here of the working from home day around the country on twitter.20.22 Assembling all the photos for the Shedworking book. Having interesting email chat with a women whose entire family seem to work in sheds, but sadly some of them are hermits and don't want to be in the book. Fair enough.21.58 Calling it a day. Thanks to everyone who stopped by (this has been one of the highest viewed posts this year) and especially to those who left a message. See you again next year (well, technically we'll see you again tomorrow but you know what I mean).

Hello and hurray from my desk, surrounded by edamame and pea seedlings as well as my two monster pumpkin plants. I love working from home, especially when it stops raining and the scent of wisteria floats in the front windows. I am a good worker, though - I even forgot to drink my tea this morning as I've been so industrious, and just found it, all cold, behind my computer...

Greetings to all my other homeworking friends who like a bit of Shedworking. xx

Thanks for reminding me it's National Work from Home Day (although for many of us EVERY day is work from home day). I will report on my day (which is proving a decidedly average one) on Musings this evening. A courier delivery of a new manuscript to edit has been the major excitement thus far, but I'm going to hang out some washing now to liven things up a bit.

Who'd work anywhere else? It's the ideal workplace for people like me - the essentially unemployable.

Today I am mostly proofreading and editing, sending out an invoice I should have issued on 30 April, filling in an online HIP form (so that I can sell my house) and, er, tidying up the office. Just a bit. Well, it is Friday. Whoops, must go - time for a tea break.

Unfortunately I too was working in an office in the middle of a city, though a very shabby, old one, unlike Uncle Wilco. And then I arrived home to find some scallys had decided to steal the main telephone cable that serves about 1000 houses around here. That could mean no shedworking at all next week.